Monte Yazzie

Monte Yazzie’s name might not be plastered across billboards, but in the indie horror scene? Dude’s practically a legend. You might remember him from “Sinus” back in 2013—that weird, trippy little film that left you wondering what the heck you just watched (in the best way possible). It’s not your average horror. Think: fever dream meets body horror meets something deeply personal that probably came out of a nightmare at 3 a.m. Monte doesn’t do generic scares; he likes to get under your skin, literally and figuratively, and just stay there. Fast forward to 2024, and he’s back in “The Dead Thing.” No spoilers, but let’s just say if you thought “Sinus” was strange, this one takes it up a notch. There’s this sense of dread that creeps in and refuses to leave, the kind of feeling that makes you check behind your shower curtain at 2 in the morning. He’s got this knack for blending old-school creature feature vibes with the existential horror of being alive in the 2020s. Oh, and don’t forget his interview with Jack Neubeck in “Harvesting the Dead.” That one flew under the radar, but it’s a solid deep-dive into what makes these oddball horror projects tick. Yazzie’s the sort of guy who loves horror not because of cheap jump scares, but because the genre is weird, raw, and almost painfully honest. If you’re looking for someone pushing horror out of its comfort zone, this is your guy.